Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Greg ‘Funk Daddy’ Buren. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Greg ‘Funk Daddy’, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Learning how to produce music, DJ, and rap can be structured or not structured. For me, mostly it was not structured. To put it in the simplest terms, I loved music and I started learning by trying to emulate what I heard. I would ‘rap’ along with songs, I would create lyrics over instrumental beats, I would get a record player/turntable and try to scratch how DJ’s scratch. I would even eventually get music equipment (drum machines/keyboards) and try to make music like the music I would hear on the radio. Mostly everything was self-taught. It was only later that I would briefly sit with another DJ (DJ Punish) and learn a little more in depth.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I got into the music industry initially as a producer and as a rapper. I bought my first drum machine (Roland 606) and my first keyboard (Moog Prodigy) while in high school. From there I would make production and either rap over the music myself or have friends come over to rap and make songs. At that moment, all songs we listened to usually had a DJ scratching in the music, so I also had to learn how to scratch and add that at well. I was having a lot of fun doing it, but in the beginning the music was just sounding ‘ok’. I had a long ways to go. As I practiced and kept at it, I got better and other people would start to come around to seek my services (usually as a producer or DJ).

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

There’s SO much more to music than just making the music. When I signed my first record deal, I naively thought that everything would fall in place. That I would automatically be on MTV or BET, have huge shows, be on the radio, etc. None of that is automatic or a given. I had to now learn the harder part of music. The BUSINESS of music. Choosing singles, doing interviews, doing promotional shows, building relationships, promoting a brand. This was all before social media even existed, so image how much harder it is now. Now an artist also has to learn to self promote, stay active, engage with their fans and so much more. Back then, I also had to learn that everything a label dumps into an artist financially has to be recouped (paid back). Your advance, your video cost, travel costs, feature costs. Everything. When artists go through this, a lot of them turn bitter towards the music industry but I didn’t. Once I learned how everything works, it just helped me understand how to make better decisions

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

What’s most rewarding in this industry is making music (and money lol) doing what you love. When I started producing and DJing, I never dreamed I would end up producing major artists like Baby Bash, E-40, D-12, Mac Dre, Mixalot and others. I never dreamed I would be on stage DJing in arenas with DJ Jazzy Jeff, Young MC, Kid Sensation, Lil Wayne, BBD and other superstars. These are artists I grew up listening to and admiring. Meeting this inspirational artists and doing music with some of them has got me numerous gold and platinum records and awards and I was just ecstatic doing music with them!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.funkdaddy.com
• Instagram: Funkdaddyofficial
• Facebook: Gregory DJ FunkDaddy Buren
• Twitter: @funkdaddyreal
• Youtube: Funkdaddyofficial
• Soundcloud: DJ Funk Daddy